Saturday, September 17, 2011

IELTS Test at British Council KL

Hasben and I sat for our IELTS exam today! After days of preparation, our English language proficiencies are finally put to test. It was very nerve wrecking... we were unable to sleep even at 2 AM last night!

Placement Test

In July 2011, we took a placement test to determine our English language level. This test result is required if we want to join the English classes conducted by British Council. The placement test cost RM100 and is conducted 2-3 days weekly. We were tested on:

1) Grammar2) Vocabulary3) Reading/Comprehension4) Speaking

However, when we got our results, Hasben decided that he was confident enough to study on his own instead of enrolling into the classes.

IELTS Test

Today we woke up early to make sure that we arrived on time. The registration time is from 8AM-8.45AM. After 8.45AM, no one will be allowed to enter the examination room. It is also important to confirm your exam venue, it will be either in the British Council building or Corus Hotel, 5 minutes walk from Wisma Dredging. Imagine if we were late?? The cost for IELTS registration is RM570! I can't imagine saying goodbye to such a huge sum of money as it will not be refunded!

Nothing was allowed inside the exam room - no phones, stationaries, calculators, pennies, wallets. All valuables will be kept inside a safety box. On the test table: A pencil, an eraser, our test ID number, and our speaking test time. IC/passport is the only thing allowed inside the hall together with 1 drinking bottle.

Lunch time! My energy level is zero!

We finished our exams at 12.00 PM and went straight for lunch at Subway, located next to the British Council HQ. I was so starving! Speaking tests start at 1 PM the same day. I was scheduled for 2.20 PM while Hasben was scheduled at 5 PM. We practiced speaking so much until it was exhausting to even think of 1 English word, hihi!

"Selamat maju jaya!" Hasben registering for his speaking test.

IELTS Speaking Test

1) Test 1 - 5 minutes max: We were required to talk about ourselves. However, the examiner will guide us by asking questions so we were not required to speak non-stop for the whole 5 minutes.
2) Test 2 - 1 minute for jotting down notes, 2 minutes test: This time the examiner will keep silent for the whole 2 minutes. I finished my point in less than 2 minutes and ended up being awkwardy quiet!! A piece of advice: Write down as many points as possible and let the examiner stop you when the time is up.
3) Test 3 - 5 minutes max: General questions related to Test 2. The examiner will also guide us with many follow up questions so there is no need to talk for 5 minutes straight.

Aaaahhh~ I am glad that is over! The result will be out on 30th September 2011, 2 weeks from now at 9 AM onwards... Wish us luck! To retrieve the results, we will need to bring our original IC/passport. If you require someone to retrieve the result for you, do request for a "On-behalf Form". You can also request for the result to be posted to your home address. These requests must be done on the test day. To view your result online, visit www.britishcouncil.org.my on the specified that and time.

Us - feeling exhausted and can't wait to go home!

Hope my experience can help future IELTS candidates to prepare for THE day!